It is such a huge Pond that covers an area of about 2.25 acres. With entrances on four directions each having multiple steps to reach down the 30 feet deep ground level, this centuries-old pond with a four pillared mandap in the middle, looks majestic.
To add more glory, the legend states that it was formed by Lord Chandra. When Chandra committed some sin, he was asked to bring water from seven sacred rivers and form this pond. He did so, took dip in this pond and prayed to Lord Vishnu everyday. Ultimately he got rid of his sin and the tank was named after him as Chandra Teerth. Over the time, it got transformed into Chitrai Kulam, it is believed.
Today, Chitrai Kulam, which belongs to the nearby Adi Kesava Perumal temple, stands merely as a popular landmark. People use the lanes around the pond for parking their vehicles. It is hard to believe that this dry pond was once used for the irrigation of paddy fields of Mylapore.
It is believed that the Goddess Mayuravalli (Lakshmi) appeared to Peyalwar in this pond and advised him to perform his services to Adi Kesava Perumal. I wish she should appear again here to advise the authorities to restore this pond to its original glory.
Happy travelling.
Note: As per a report, there were about 650+ waterbodies in Chennai region till 1980s. Today, only a fraction of them exist. And, most of those surviving waterbodies hardly have water and even some of them that have water had been shrunk badly. In Chennai, there are tank roads without tanks nearby and lake view roads without any lake in the vicinity. There is a high possibility that even the few waterbodies that we have today might vanish in the near future. I thought of visiting the currently surviving waterbodies of Chennai and its suburbs and write about them in my blog as a series.
To add more glory, the legend states that it was formed by Lord Chandra. When Chandra committed some sin, he was asked to bring water from seven sacred rivers and form this pond. He did so, took dip in this pond and prayed to Lord Vishnu everyday. Ultimately he got rid of his sin and the tank was named after him as Chandra Teerth. Over the time, it got transformed into Chitrai Kulam, it is believed.
Today, Chitrai Kulam, which belongs to the nearby Adi Kesava Perumal temple, stands merely as a popular landmark. People use the lanes around the pond for parking their vehicles. It is hard to believe that this dry pond was once used for the irrigation of paddy fields of Mylapore.
It is believed that the Goddess Mayuravalli (Lakshmi) appeared to Peyalwar in this pond and advised him to perform his services to Adi Kesava Perumal. I wish she should appear again here to advise the authorities to restore this pond to its original glory.
Happy travelling.
Note: As per a report, there were about 650+ waterbodies in Chennai region till 1980s. Today, only a fraction of them exist. And, most of those surviving waterbodies hardly have water and even some of them that have water had been shrunk badly. In Chennai, there are tank roads without tanks nearby and lake view roads without any lake in the vicinity. There is a high possibility that even the few waterbodies that we have today might vanish in the near future. I thought of visiting the currently surviving waterbodies of Chennai and its suburbs and write about them in my blog as a series.
